Ok, I hate to admit I liked it, but I did. Dallas BBQ here in NYC (it has nothing to do with Dallas actually) was pretty good. I’m no BBQ expert so I’m easy to please, but Dallas has a KILLER Early Bird Special. Some friends and I found ourselves near Times Square, which we try to avoid, on Sunday afternoon. The special is TWO plates for $9.99!! If you want the honey or BBQ sauce, it’s a dollar more per dish. It comes with rice or fries, cornbread, soup, and half a chicken. I was skeptical when I got pulled into the tacky massive tourist trap. But we ate a lot, including a Texas sized margarita, and didn’t break the bank even in Times Square. Early bird hours - Monday-Thursday 11:30am-6pm and Friday, Sat, Sun - 11:30am - 5pm, and they have a few locations around the city, others much cooler than Times Square.

I want to start posting about cheap restaurants and eats we find around NYC, and where ever we happen to travel. I’ll admit Johnathan and I are not great about eating out cheap - we don’t do it often so when we do, we tend to spend a little bit more. Inevitably we can’t spend $100 on dinner every time we eat out, so I wanted to start passing on what we find. My friend Jess B introduced me to this Korea Town place the other night. Korea Town is about a block long, 32nd St between 5 & 6th Ave. It’s like walking into any ethnic anywhere - lined with restaurants, all serving pretty much the same thing, so how do you know what’s good? A recommendation. Jess took me to Pho Cha at 15 W 32nd. It’s on the second floor, which makes it even better and doesn’t attract the tourists from the LaQuinta Inn a couple doors down. Jess had a large steaming bowl of ramen, and I had the same but with Udon. So good, so filling, so cheap - $5-$7!! We each had a $5 OB Korean beer (which tastes exactly like Corona - probably the same stuff). It’s a great experience, and there’s a variety on the menu - barbeque, mussels (I’d be careful there, but they were on a lot of tables), and sizzling plates of meat and veggies. But if you need a cheap Manhattan meal with a unique ethnic experience - here’s your spot!